Eureka is brought to the medical bay in the wake of nearly merging with the Scub Coral. Tensions between Renton and Holland continue to rise, and when Holland decides to go on a rescue mission for the Vodarac over Renton's insisting the he take Eureka to a "proper" hospital, a violent argument breaks out. When the rescue mission goes sour, though, Renton still goes out to helpâafter getting some sense knocked into him by Talho.
Renton wanders aimlessly after having left the Gekko, while the members of Gekkostate discuss his departure and how to tell Eureka. Eventually, Renton winds up in the city, where he meets Charles and Ray Beams. They take him aboard their ship, the Swan; after seeing how they live, compared to his former life on the Gekko, he decides to stay.
Eureka's condition worsens, and Renton is lost in thought. In the midst of depression, Eureka climbs into the Nirvash and removes the Compac Drive; however, this leads to the Nirvash activating by itself. When Renton finds out, he chases the Nirvash deep into the mines. Meanwhile, the military launches an all-out attack on FAC-51, hoping to smoke Gekkostate out â or bury them under the rubble of the collapsing mine.
Renton joins Charles and Ray on a job to deliver a believer in Vodarac to a holy ground, but when Renton tries instead to get the girl treatment, contradicting the family's wishes, he learns more about how the world around him works. Meanwhile, Holland tries to deal with the fact that he has to tell Eureka that Renton left the Gekko.
While the Gekko's repairs are moving along at a steady pace, Renton meets a miner who hasn't given up on FAC-51. He begins to make friends with him when they discover a common interest. However, the miner is desperate for a big score, and when he sees the Nirvash typeZERO, he sees the biggest score of all â even if it means taking it from its current owners. Meanwhile, Eureka begins to show signs of stress from being around the mine.
The Gekko needs a large amount of reflection film to fix the damage from South Ailess, so Ken-Goh, Moondoggie, Hap, Matthieu, Stoner, and Renton visit a local workshop to get some made. When they arrive, they find the shop in disuse and its current owner, Neil, drunk. After Ken-Goh gets Neil to agree to make them some film, they head out to catch the raw materials â skyfish. Meanwhile, Dewey announces his plan for the world to his new unit.
After leaving the Swan, Renton once again wanders around, unable to find a way to return to the Gekko. He collapses in a forest of pile bunkers and is found by William B. Baxter, a hermit living with his wife, Martha, who suffers from Desperation. As he recovers from his weariness, he learns more about nature and about love. Meanwhile, Holland searches for Renton amidst military blockades â until he realizes the Gekko is nearly surrounded.
The military prepares their assault on the Gekko, while Holland rushes back to try and extricate Gekkostate from impending disaster. However, when he shows up without Renton, Eureka takes matters into her own hands and goes out to search for him... just as he returns to the Gekko, looking for Eureka.
The Gekko lands at FAC-51, an abandoned mine, to undergo repairs in the aftermath of the battle at South Ailess. Eureka has been silent and aloof ever since Renton piloted the Nirvash to rescue her and Matthieu from the military. While trying to find a way to interact with her, Renton is called on an expeditionary trip into the mine with Hap, Matthieu, Moondoggie, Gidget, and Stoner. Renton wanders off and finds a mysterious house.
Gekkostate is on a health craze and send Renton, Eureka, and Matthieu to visit Controlad on a mission to gather a certain fruit. All over town, they find the prices are too high... so they decide to pick some up "in the wild". This gets them into trouble with a local farmer, who turns out to be Renton's uncle, Yucatan Iglasias. When Renton lies to him about being in the military, things quickly spin out of control.
Comments